


it's nice to have a friend

by inasong



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: 80s Music, Best Friends, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Oblivious Girlfriends, Robin is in love, bi nancy wheeler, nancy is a dumbass, softness in general, this is the result of me listening to taylor swift on repeat for the past week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-05 01:17:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20480555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inasong/pseuds/inasong
Summary: It takes Robin a few seconds to come up with a simple, yet elaborate answer."I wish I knew more about the future." She stops in her tracks and smiles. "And you — I wish I knew more about you."It feels weirdly intimate; the way she says it. It sounds like a thing a guy would say to her on a date. Now that she thinks about it, Robin would be the perfect boyfriend: she's always giving her compliments, she brings her coffee in class, and she smells nice.or: robin and nancy are just friends (but are they?)





	it's nice to have a friend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inhobbok](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inhobbok/gifts).

> listen people, this is the result of me projecting onto taylor's new album and listening to clairo on repeat. I said oblivious nancy bi rights in this fic so you're welcome. also a big thank you to maya for always being supportive! love u

The snow crunches under her feet. Winter in Hawkins is brutal, but Nancy wouldn't want it any other way. She steps outside and takes in the cold air, exhaling a little cloud of breath. The clatter of students flowing out of the school surrounds her, wrapping her up in the festive mood.

She's almost outside the empty parking lot when someone calls her name. It echoes in the white streets softly as she turns around, only to be greeted by Robin's red cheeks and bright smile.

"Hey,"

It's new, this thing they have going on. Nancy doesn't really know how to define it: they talk, walk home from school together, call on the phone —

After Barb, she hasn't really tried making new female friends (too many memories). And she has Jonathan, him and her against the world. But now he is gone too, and Robin has waltzed in her life with such ease she doesn't have the nerve to object. After all, it's nice to have a friend.

"Hi, sorry I didn't wait for you, I thought you had band practice."

It's true: Robin has rehearsals for the school play every Monday and band practice every Thursday. Today happens to be the latter.

Robin sighs, rubbing her hands together to enjoy a little heat, "They cancelled it, _thank God_. I don't think I would have been able to play in this damn cold."

She laughs, throwing her head back, and Nancy smiles. It makes her heart melt a little bit more every time she does that.

"What's up with you?" Robin suddenly asks, eyes pointing to Nancy's bare hands. They're covered in little red patches from the cold and they sting a little now that she thinks about it.

She looks down embarrassed, "I lost my gloves." It's stupid and she feels like a child. She swears she took them off in the morning and put them in her locker, but by lunch time they had already gone.

Robin doesn't laugh at her, instead she pulls one red glove from her fingers and hands it to her. Simple as that. When their eyes meet, Robin has a shy smile on. "We can be cold together."

Nancy puts it on, thanking her. They walk in the snow for a while before she reaches out and grabs Robin's exposed hand. It's cold, but not as cold as she had expected. Their fingers link together easily.

She raises her gaze to a flustered Robin.

"For the cold —"

"Yeah, of course,"

A short pause.

"Wanna hang out?"

Nancy lets her foot sink into the snow before answering.

"Sounds like fun."

Spring sneaks up on her way too quickly, leaving her no time to think about anything else apart from her future. Nancy feels like she's seen every college in the state, driving down almost every week to see a new campus. It was easier when all she had to do was shoot monsters.

Jonathan is going to NYU and she's happy for him, but she can't get out of her mind the thought of him leaving her behind somehow.

Thankfully Robin is still there to watch stupid teenage movies with her and talk about all the important things in the universe.

"What’s the best and worst thing about getting older?"

They're up on Robin's roof, the sun slowly sinking down behind the mountains before their eyes. The color of the sky reminds Nancy of the walls in her room.

"Well, that's a hard question," she says resting one hand under her chin.

Robin fiddles with the radio, changing from station to station with a meticulousness Nancy finds fascinating. "That's part of the game Nance,"

Said game being twenty questions. It's pretty childish, but honestly there's no better way to get to know someone than to just ask what their deepest secret is. They've asked a couple questions so far, back and forth, but Robin's seem to always be more articulate than Nancy's, leaving her somewhat frustrated.

"Okay, then I guess the best part is independence and the worst is having to work to make money." She thinks that's a good answer that'll surely make Robin stop complaining about her previously lame ones. She's wrong.

Robin slowly raises her eyes from the radio and opens her mouth, only to close it when Nancy shoots her a warning look as if to say _don't you dare_.

"Great answer,"

"Thank you," she replies chirpily, "My turn." She takes her time, slowly examining what she might say that would impress Robin.

"What do you wish you knew more about?"

Robin looks taken aback for a second, staring off in the distance with her mouth twisted and brows furrowed. A song Nancy doesn't know plays faintly on the radio.

_A man in my shoes runs a light_

_And all the papers lied tonight_

_But falling over you_

_Is the news of the day_

"Robin?"

"Sorry — I was just thinking."

Nancy's noticed whenever she does that, Robin bites the inside of her cheek and frowns. She reckons she looks a bit like those statues of Greek philosophers she has seen in her European History textbook.

It takes Robin a few seconds to come up with a simple, yet elaborate answer.

"I wish I knew more about the future." She stops in her tracks and smiles. "And you — I wish I knew more about you."

It feels weirdly intimate; the way she says it. It sounds like a thing a guy would say to her on a date. Now that she thinks about it, Robin would be the perfect boyfriend: she's always giving her compliments, she brings her coffee in class, and she smells nice.

Nancy lets her lips grow into a smile, "Well, you're getting to know more about me now, aren't you?"

"I guess I am." Robin's cheeks are a little flushed. She takes a deep breath and sighs. The sun is now gone, leaving the sky drenched in a deep purple.

It's still a mystery to Nancy what goes inside her head most of the times. They talk, that's true, but Robin has this way of always being one step ahead of her that's just — infuriating.

So she stays silent, waiting for a glimpse of the thoughts dancing inside Robin's head to come out.

"I can't believe we're graduating in like two months," It still feels so unreal to Nancy too. She shakes her head and a little laugh escapes from her lips. "Tell me about it."

Robin wants to say something, she can feel it, but it almost looks like it's stuck in the back of her throat and she can't get the words out. Then she runs a hand through her hair and exhales, "I've just been so stressed out lately, it's getting hard to keep up with life."

"Yeah, me too. I wish we could stop time and stay on this roof forever,"

The man on the radio announces the next song and Robin laughs, "We can. It's not like we have a curfew or anything, remember?”

Nancy rolls her eyes at her, softly punching her in the arm, "Shut up!"

Her hand falls on the cold tiles beside Robin's. The rough material feels dirty under Nancy's fingers and she's about to move her hand away when she hears Robin shuffle next to her.

It takes her exactly six seconds (she has counted) to lay her own hand on Nancy's.

They stay still as the cars run under their feet and the radio hums a now familiar tune.

_I like to see you_

_But then again_

_That doesn't mean you mean that much to me_

_So if I call you_

_Don't make a fuss_

_Don't tell your friends about the two of us_

_I'm not in love, no no, it's because_

"So,"

She's right in front of her, the last box of books in her arms. It's still August, but it feels like winter when Nancy thinks about letting Robin go. They've dreaded this moment for too long, pretending like there weren't going to be 2,127.4 miles between them sooner or later.

Steve takes the box from Robin's hands and offers Nancy a sympathetic smile. He's dropping her off at the airport, his eyes still red from the tears he has probably shed with her earlier in private.

"Call me when you land?"

Robin shakes her head and smiles with her mouth, but not her eyes, "I'll call you every day, Wheeler."

There's this tiny distance between them that is soon going to grow into something unbearable, so Nancy fills it without thinking, landing in the safety of Robin's arms. Her eyes close as she takes in the whole that is Robin: her smell, her fingers, her breath —

She thinks about all the moments they've shared, between laughing and crying and drinking cheap wine, and finds no reason to let Robin go. But she feels Robin's face pull back from the crook of her neck and cracks one eye open.

Her cheeks are wet as Robin delicately runs a thumb over them. She has this look in her blue eyes that makes Nancy's stomach climb up to her throat. It's a split second, and then Robin's cheekbones are pressing against hers, tears and sweat mixing in one last instant of truth.

Nancy keeps her eyes wide open. She can count all of Robin's freckles. Her lips move instinctively, taking in the softness of Robin's.

Just as it has started, the moment is gone. Robin takes one step back before turning around and disappearing into the passenger seat. Nancy's fingers run up to her lips, suddenly feeling naked and cold.

She barely registers the noise of the engine starting, and the words only come out when the car is a tiny red blob speeding down the road.

"You're not my friend,"

**Author's Note:**

> the first song is The Ghost in You by The Psychedelic Furs and the second one is I'm Not in Love by 10cc. leave a comment if you liked it or you just want to scream about robin/nancy and taylor swift.


End file.
